Pars Posted December 18, 2007 Report Posted December 18, 2007 The P&G RF15 is the best pot they offer and it is supposed to be a step down from the RK50 and there have also been some issues with them. Impressive pots though but I'm glad that my new source has a built in volume control so I remove all steppers and pots from the signal path. The RK50 gets the best recommendation I can think off... Kondo uses them. That's enough for me. Issues with P&G or the RK50s? So, how much are these RK50s? I looked at the datasheet on them from Bisco and noticed they offer these in 4-gang (balanced)... bet that is expensive. I know, if you have to ask how much...
spritzer Posted December 18, 2007 Report Posted December 18, 2007 The P&G's had some issues. You can get a 2 gang RK50 for 400euros so the 4 gang would be double that.
justin Posted December 20, 2007 Report Posted December 20, 2007 Issues with P&G or the RK50s? So, how much are these RK50s? I looked at the datasheet on them from Bisco and noticed they offer these in 4-gang (balanced)... bet that is expensive. I know, if you have to ask how much... I paid $821 from Bisco for a 4-gang RK50 and that was 2 years ago i'm afraid to find out what DACTs USD prices will be next year
spritzer Posted December 20, 2007 Report Posted December 20, 2007 I paid $821 from Bisco for a 4-gang RK50 and that was 2 years ago i'm afraid to find out what DACTs USD prices will be next year That is a good price for something this good. The USD as only 2/3 of the Euro is bad for everybody...
Edwood Posted December 23, 2007 Report Posted December 23, 2007 Yeah, prices are going up and up. The 2 gang RK50 is $520 from familygate on eBay. No 4 gangs on eBay. Glad I got my 4 gang DACT for $160 a few years ago. Perhaps I should build an amp to put it into
shokunin Posted December 30, 2007 Report Posted December 30, 2007 Alright coming into '08 I'd like to get an electrostat rig in my office or main rig, although the K1000 on darTZeel sounds pretty good. Will the Justin's new amp (KGST?) or one of if it's variant surpass the now OOP KGBH at a similar price point $2.5K? I'd probably pair these up with HE 1.3's or Omega II's.
spritzer Posted December 30, 2007 Report Posted December 30, 2007 Alright coming into '08 I'd like to get an electrostat rig in my office or main rig, although the K1000 on darTZeel sounds pretty good. Will the Justin's new amp (KGST?) or one of if it's variant surpass the now OOP KGBH at a similar price point $2.5K? I'd probably pair these up with HE 1.3's or Omega II's. I doubt it will surpass the original BH but it could. The 6S4 is a good tube and well suited for this role but it hasn't got the power of a triode connected EL34.
luvdunhill Posted December 30, 2007 Report Posted December 30, 2007 I doubt it will surpass the original BH x2 the price point is bellow the new and improved BH as well. I'm betting the old BH amps will just increase in price, especially if the Black Gates stay out of production. I guess KG or Justin could comment the BHSE versus the BH as a teaser
didwlgh Posted December 30, 2007 Report Posted December 30, 2007 Alright coming into '08 I'd like to get an electrostat rig in my office or main rig, although the K1000 on darTZeel sounds pretty good. Will the Justin's new amp (KGST?) or one of if it's variant surpass the now OOP KGBH at a similar price point $2.5K? I'd probably pair these up with HE 1.3's or Omega II's. K1000s on darTZeel? Man, your K1000 is being pampered like no other.
shokunin Posted December 31, 2007 Report Posted December 31, 2007 K1000s on darTZeel? Man, your K1000 is being pampered like no other. The darts are used on my speaker rig, so it was easy to just hook them up to the K1000's. I've seen some K1000's with Zanden's that are being pampered much much more. Luckily, I bought an SRD7 from Spritzer that'll at least give me something to power up an electrostat.
luvdunhill Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 The assymetrical BH boards make me sad I cannot get the case layout to look quite right ...
spritzer Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 Are you using them with side mounted heatsinks or like Justin did with the older BH's?
luvdunhill Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 the boards are asymmetrical on both axes unfortunately...
spritzer Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 the boards are asymmetrical on both axes unfortunately... I know but it can be compensated for even if it will be a bit of a hassle. You could also use chassis mounted tube sockets with the bias pots on the outside... and use some exotic pentodes I've been brain storming on my computer amp situation as I need a good amp with a USB dac but it has to be small. I could make it really small by stacking the KGSS PCB's and place a USB DAC underneath with side mounted heatsinks. The PSU can be hidden away and no nasty AC heater voltage to deal with. I think I need to do some designing....
luvdunhill Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 I know but it can be compensated for even if it will be a bit of a hassle. You could also use chassis mounted tube sockets with the bias pots on the outside... and use some exotic pentodes well, I had such luck with the KGSS by mounting the PCB to the top and bottom of the case, I am going to try this again. It's okay if things don't quite line up left to right, like with your BH. I plan on using chassis mount tube sockets, probably the bakelite ones I have on hand. I think I'm going to keep the bias pots inside the case, as I would like to keep the leads very short at these points in the circuit. I'll probably add a tip jack location for ground and then use that in conjunction with the front mount jacks for biasing. My cheaper meter has probes that fit just right in the molex-based Stax jack. I've been brain storming on my computer amp situation as I need a good amp with a USB dac but it has to be small. I could make it really small by stacking the KGSS PCB's and place a USB DAC underneath with side mounted heatsinks. The PSU can be hidden away and no nasty AC heater voltage to deal with. I think I need to do some designing.... great idea! I really like the DI DAC concept (www.ecdesigns.nl), and the USB input is the best I've ever heard... something to think about at least! Take care!
spritzer Posted January 5, 2008 Report Posted January 5, 2008 well, I had such luck with the KGSS by mounting the PCB to the top and bottom of the case, I am going to try this again. It's okay if things don't quite line up left to right, like with your BH. I plan on using chassis mount tube sockets, probably the bakelite ones I have on hand. I think I'm going to keep the bias pots inside the case, as I would like to keep the leads very short at these points in the circuit. I'll probably add a tip jack location for ground and then use that in conjunction with the front mount jacks for biasing. My cheaper meter has probes that fit just right in the molex-based Stax jack. That sounds great. If you aren't going to do much tuberolling then the pots should be on the PCB. Tuberolling mine is a bit of a pain since I can't remove the top due to the Black Gates... I've been doing some thinking on a small KGSS and using the ebay heatsinks you linked to cut to 10" would make good side panels and allow me to make the amp about 15*20*25cm (H-W-D). Since this is a non crucial amp I'd use the stock BH psu and a small PSU to feed the DAC, both housed externally. great idea! I really like the DI DAC concept (www.ecdesigns.nl), and the USB input is the best I've ever heard... something to think about at least! Take care! Those DAC's look great but space is really an issue. The Opus with USB and SPDIF option would work and sound good enough for this role.
deepak Posted February 14, 2008 Report Posted February 14, 2008 Sorry to bump an old thread, curiosity is getting the better of me. Will the KGST have more voltage swing than a KGSS?
deepak Posted February 14, 2008 Report Posted February 14, 2008 It should be the same. Thanks Justin.
Odyssey Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 Is the BHSE auto bias or fixed bias? If one changes the tubes for other EL34/KT77 variants (NOS or new production) is rebiasing necessary?
n_maher Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 It is user-biasable IIRC, not fixed or auto. There are access holes in the top panel that allow access to trimpots for re-biasing after tube replacement.
justin Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 It is user-biasable IIRC, not fixed or auto. There are access holes in the top panel that allow access to trimpots for re-biasing after tube replacement. There should be more explanation here. I've never seen a tube amp (for headphones) that is AUTO BIAS. Auto Bias means there is circuitry inside the amp constantly adjusting the bias so you don't have to. Fixed Bias is what is in most headphone amps, meaning you can't adjust it, and it may not be ideal for the tubes you've put in. as Nate said, there are trim pots accessible from the top panel to adjust the amp.
Odyssey Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 Fixed Bias is what is in most headphone amps, meaning you can't adjust it, and it may not be ideal for the tubes you've put in. as Nate said, there are trim pots accessible from the top panel to adjust the amp. If their are trim pots for adjustment then why would you indicate fixed bias is not adjustable? For "speaker" tube amplifiers, there are fixed bias amplifiers that are adjustable.
kevin gilmore Posted February 24, 2009 Report Posted February 24, 2009 There should be more explanation here. I've never seen a tube amp (for headphones) that is AUTO BIAS Sure you have... Bamaslama is servo bias, maintains 0 volts DC for dynamic headphones without an output capacitor. Would be extremely hard to do for the BH. Lots and lots of extra parts and power supplies. Does not matter as a couple volts of DC for electrostatics is meaningless.
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